Coke-oven door



J. VAN ACKEREN 2,338,675

COKE-OVEN DOOR Filed Aug. 13, 1941 6 Shee'ts-Sheet 2 Jan. 4, 1944.

Jan. 4, 1944. J. VAN ACKEREN (JOKE-OVEN DOOR Filed Aug. 13, 1941 6Sheets-Sheet 3 INVENTOR.

Jan. 4, 1944. J. VAN ACKEREN 6 Sheets-Sheet 4 COKE-OVEN DOOR Filed Aug.13, 1941 INVENTOR. JOSEPH wm flO/(ERE/Y.

1944 J. VAN ACKEREN 2338675 COKE-OVEN DOOR Filed Aug. 13, 1941 6Sheets-Sheet 5 INVENTOR. Joserw van Acxszeu.

COKE-OVEN DOOR Filed Aug. 13, 1941 e Shee'ts-Sheet 6 21b Ll g' 12INVENTOR.

Jose PH van flcmsnsu.

Patented Jan. 4, 1944 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE (JOKE-OVEN DOOR Josephvan Ackeren, llttsburgh. la. assiznor to Kappers Company, a corporationof Delaware Appiiation August 1:, 1941, Serlal m. 408,653 Claims. (01.202-248 The present invention relates to improvements in coke-oven doorsof the self-sealng type that are employed for closing the ends ofcokingchambers of herizontal coke ovens, and comprehends suchimproVements in their design and manufacture asnot only adapt thembetter to withstand the severe conditins to which they are subjected incoke-oven operation but also reduce their costs of production andfacilitate their maintenance and promote the durability of theiradjustments.

Amongst the objects of the present invention is the provision of aseif-sealing coke-oven door comprising an inner refractory plug-portion,a yieldable sealing member that is adapted to cooperate with adoor-frame surrounding a mouth of a coklng-chamber to establish ametal-to--- metal seal theretor, and a rugged metallic outerdoor-supporting back, a11 rigidly interconnected in a nove1 fashion thatimproves the degree of balance between the said features and thatutilizes their structural materials with a. high degree of efficiency toresist stresses to which the door as .a whole, and the door-supportinback as a component part thereoi, are suhjected during oven operation.

A further object of invention is the provision of a nevel and practicaldesign of coke-oven door whereby its above-mentioned features areespecially conveniently alignabie and assemblable into, and replaceablein, a rigid door-unit and from whch the door-supporting back isindependently removable without deranging 01 dismantling its other saidfeatures, and wherein the said door-back is substantially completely outof direct contact with other door members that are directly subjected tothe high temperatures of the coking-chambers and. heating walls.

A further object of inventon is to provide, or

coke-oven doors, such improved designed and arrangement therein of ametallic door-supporting back that this structnral-feature functions asan insulating shield to protect the other features of a door-unit tromfluctuations of temperature occasioned by ambient air and also operatesto decrease heat losses trom coking-chambers below those caused bycokeoven door constructions of the prior art, the sad design also makingt feasible, without sacrificeof strength, to reduce the distance betweenthe door-supporting backs extreme flbers (i. e. inner and outerextremities) and, in consequence, the mployment of one having arelatively sh.llower contour that reduces the space required for itsaccommodation in a coke-oven battery.

in the methods or apparatus hereinafter described or claimed.

A self-sealing coke-oven door constructed according to the principles ofthe instant improvement has it;s 'structural materials disposed inaccordance with the basic principles of the wellknown I-beam wherein theresistance of the compl'isink structural materials to flexing orces isenhanced by removing them from the neutral axis at which' point theirresisting moment is lower, and disposing them at a distance trom saidaxis where, in consequence of their higher moment of inertia whichincreases as the square of the distance. the said structural materialsare employed more eflciently because of the greater force they exert inthat relative location. 'I'hus, in the instant novel cokeoven door theinner lining of retractory material along with the metallicliner-retainers therefor and such ether features directly associatedtherewith, as the yieldable sea.ling member, are formed as a compositeflange 10cated at the one side of the door, the connecting means forholding this composite flange rigidly to the outer door-supporting backconstituting the web portion of the I-beam, and the improveddoor-supporting back tselt, which extends across the front of the doorto atleast substantially the edge of the iexible sealing member, iormingthe other flanse of the I-beam. 'I'his nevel design contributes per seto a cokeoven door constructed according to its principies that basicruggedness and structural resistance to flexing i'orces that areinherent to an I-beam arrangement of materials in general.

'I'he improved door-supporting back of invention resembles in itsstructural arrangement 8. sort of turtle-back or nove1, composite T-beamthat is itself formd and is also assembied into' a door-unit in a mannerconsistent with the physical lawthat the resisting moment of thematerial of a structural form increases asits.

distance from the neutral axis is increased; and, as will be apparenttrom the hereinatter-given description, the said improveddoor-suppoiting back is itseli a beam that has a high proportion of itsmetal relatively remote trom its own neutral axis and its dis;iositionin the assembled doorunit is such that its said neutral axis is locatedmore clgsely adjacent thecenter of gravity of the door-unit than is themain portion of its metallic mass. 'I'hus, the subject of the inventionis essentially a coke-oven door that. viewed in its entirety, has itscomprising features assembled according to the I-beam principie ofmaterial distribution, the natural strength of such a structural formbeing urther enhanced by an internal beam construction that makes itadvantageously feasible for a door constructed according to its patternto withstand agreater force with a given qu'antity of materiai or toresist a given force with a 1esser q1antity thereoi; its pattern may beconceived as a double-beamed" or a "beam-within-a-beam construction.

Consistent, then, with the above-given brie! description of its generalstructural arrangement, the present improved coke-oven door oomprisesstructurally -three primary parts; namely, a rugged outerdoor-supporting back that spans the entire door, a therewith somewhat1ess extensive inner plug-portion comprising massive refraotorymaterial, and connecting means that are adapted 1!or mutually rigidlysupporting these two features in spaced relationship in such manner asto accord an I-beam contour to sections taken transversely of the whole.

The noveliy-shaped member constituting the supporting-back for theoven-door simulates a turtle-bac that has a flat outwardly-embossed orconvexed portion which, in the assembled door-- unit, is disposed at thebattery face, and its side-wails, which extend some distance inwardlyfrom the flat suriace of this embossed portion,

. that reduce heat lossen fi'om the eokingchamber and promote bothlenzth 0! life 01 en oven door and the pereistence of 73 seaiingadiustments.

The d0ors plug-portion, i. e. those of its elements located on that sideof the strengthening ribs of the door-supporting back opposite its ownvertical face, comprises, the usual massive lining of retractorymaterial, metallic liner-retainers for supporting the same, theyieldable sealing member that extends around the periphery 01 theplug-portion, and, in addition. a pluraiity of both Verticallyand 01hoflzontally-disposed metallic bars. The i'ormer of these metalli: barsserve for the bolting together into a unit along with a thin clampingsheet, the said yieldable sealing member, and the liner-retainers.whereas the latter of said bars serve the additional tunction ofsupporting, independently of the other ot said elements of theplug-portion, those heavy bolts Whereby the latter is attaohed throughits strengthening ribs to the door-supporting back.

T0 provide for an ener8tic circulation of air around both the inner andouter surtaces of the turtle-back, portions of its outvvardly-convexedterminate in a marginal flange that extends entire1y around saiddoor-back. 'Ihis marginal flange is provided at space;1 intervals withthreaded bores tor holding those bolts whereby pressure-adjustments aremade on the yieldabie sealing member that is itself independantlysupeach 'bfy a b0re for the passage of heavy bolts whereby the"turtle-back" is rigidly attached to the plug-portion of the door-unit.The said bolts. for this purpose, are aflixed to the plug-portion of theoven-door and project above its outer surace in pairs of which eachmember is located, between the longitudinal median and the periphery ofthe door, at a, point where it registers vertical face are cut away toform port-holes into which air can flow trom the outside to replace thatai.r caused to risethrough the interspace between it and theplug-portionby heat conducted through the letter Iromthe cokins-chambers.

For latching the coke-oven-door of the improvement in operating positionin the mouth of a coke-oven, there is provided new and novel latch-bars;ea.ch comprising a heavy cylindrie bar that supports a median cam-shapedsection, of slightly larger diameter, which is rotatable inde pendentlyof said bar by means of an integral handle. The cylindric bar is held inlatch-hooks located on the door-frame surrounding the ovenmouth.Bysimple turning of the handled, camshaped section, it is possible toestablish a requisite pressure, between said hooks and a special cambearing-plate that is removably attached to the turte-bac for easysubstitution when nec essarr, to ho ld the door in.sealed position inthe oven mouth.

The heavy frames of the leveiler-doors provided on those oven doors forthe pusher-side of the battery are each, accoiding to thepresentimprovement, attachedto the metallic retainers in the plug-portion forholding a relatively th in strip of the refract0ry material disposedaround the leveller-opening, said frames being thus out of contact withthe turtle-back whieh is itseif so formed adjacent thereto that currentsof the with a corresponding-bore in a bos of the turtlebac Incombination with the above-mentioned longitudinal strengthening ribs ofthe tur-tle-back, these co-acting bolts form the weblike connectingmeans between the massive e'mcooling air, which continuously flowupwardly through the interspace between the turtle-back and theplug-portion, are directed around and over the suri'aces ortheleveller-doors and their frames, therebyadvantageously serving to eflecta quick dissipation of the heat which the levellerdoors and metallicparts thereadiacent continuously absorb directly trom the heating wa1isof "instances:

The flrst sheet thereof shows a pairtially disa,sas,gms ssembledperspective view of the coke-oven door therebeyond around the entireedge of the giounit;

Fig. 3 is a front elevational view of the assembiecl coke-oven door ofFigs. 1 and 2 and shows the improved latch-bars therefor along .withtheir latch-hooks that are attached to the door-frame surrounding theoven-mouth;

Fig. 4 is a vertical section taken along the line IVIY of Fig. 3;

Figs. 5, 6 and 7 are enlarged horizontai sections taken respectiv.elyalong the lines V-V, VI-VI and VII--VII of Fig. 3 and show in greaterdetail some of the features of thepresent improvement, the refractorymaterial being removed on said Fig. the more clearly to show theconstruction of its basal support;

Fig. 5a is a. partial vertical section taken aiong the arrangement of s.basa1 support tor g. section of the refractory doordining;

Fig. 5b is a vertical section taken aiong the line Vb-Vb of Fig. 4 andshowing detail of the arrangement for supporting the bottomliner-retainer in the door-unit;

Fig. 5e is a horizontal section taken along the line Vc--Vc of Fig. 4and showing additional de- Fig 8 is an enlarged view of the upper partof Fig. 4 showing more clearly the improved doors construction in theregion adjacent the levellerdoor frame and also one of the nevella.tch-bars employed to support the door in the cokingchamber rnouth;Fig. 9 is an eniarged view of the 1ower part of Fig. 4 showing detailsof constrution of this door-portion;

Fig. 10 is a perspective view of a portion of a coke-oven batteryequipped with a plurality of coke-oven doors that embody features of thepresent improvement;

Fig. 11 is a section taken through a standard [-iron that has beenadapted 1'or constructing the of the door m.nency of shape and ofretentlon of an existing adjustment of the flexible sealing member. hes,as

is manifest in Fig. 1, a sort of embossed or dished configuration. Thismember |0 is so assembled in a door-unit that its convex surface fecesoutwardly of the battery. The reverse or concave surface has integrallyformed thereon perpendicularly-disposed iongitudiral and transversestrengthening ribsrespectively H, I2, the former of these expanding atspaced intervals therealong into trustum-shaped bosses |3 that arearranged in pairs. Extending entirely through these bosses are bores |4through which are passed the similarly-spaced shanks of bo1ts i5, asshown in Fig. 2, and. whereby the plug-porton of 2. doorunit isremovably attachecl to the turtle-back" member by means of a pluralityof nuts IB that are, in Fig. 1 torpurposes of clarity, illustrated asremoved into a plane behind the turtle-back.

Along its vertical median, portions of the ernbossed section of themember I are cut away to provide several openings I'I of which the oneclesignated as na is arranged in a position to receive the door-hooi: of9. door machine for its handling during oven operations. For thispurpose, the

. upper surface of l'l'a lies in a horizontal plane so the line VaVa 013Fig. 5 and showing in detail as te faciiitate maintaining the door piumbwhen supported by the door-hoek, The said openings .tai of the doorconstruction adjacent ts lower H primariiy serve to facilitate flow ofcooiing outside air into the extensive interspace between the"turtle-back" and the plug-section of the assembled door unit, and forthe purpose of prometing the movement of air up and around interiorfeatures of the assembled door, the free edges of both the longitudinaland transverse strengthening ribs H, I2. stop somewhat short of contactwith the plug-porton and thus provide through the doors nterior, fromtop to bottom, a substantially uninterrupted flow-.-path for suchcooling air.

Heavy fiange orms the 1im of the turt1eback" and extends around itsentire periphery. At spaced iritervals along this flange are threadedholes |9 each provdedwth a similarly-threaded adjusting bolt 20 havingsuflicient length that it can be turned to impress varying degrees offlexing pressure on the opposte adjacent portion of the flexible sealingmember '2I whichis itself independently bolted to thedoorsplug-portion.

Those of the present improved coke-oven doors that are designed for useat the pusher-side of the battery are ea.ch provided with en openingflexible sealing member of the improved cokeoven door by removalf. oneof its fianges, the remaining fiange having been ground at its outerpart to provide the actual seaiing edge;

Fig. 12 shows en eniarged view of. a. mtered.

corner of the fiexible sealing member and the arcuate form of its sea1ngedge at that loca- -tien; and.

. olosed andiatched position, the leveller-door is Fig. 13 is a sectiontaken along the line XIII-XIII of Fig. 12 showing the ioce)tion of theweids employed in Iorming the areuate eorners door features areparticularly apparent.- The rugged outer turtle-back" supporting menberl0 which in the door assembly functions to curry all the other doorparts and uponthe structural i'esistanoe of which uitirnately dependsthe permember as is clearly apparent in Fig. 1.

22 through which a. leveller-bar is insertable into the adjacentcoking-chamber for levelling-oi the charged coa1. 'I'he leveller-door orclosure 23 fox this opening has a hinged support, 24, that is earried solely by the turtle-back andin its somewhat spaced from the main body ofsaid Doorfran1e 25 fox the ieveller-opening extends outwardiy tromdoor's piug-portion, to which it is afiixed, .with wal1s that are slopedsufliciently to permit its passage through the turtle-back at theopening 28 therein which has dimensions suflieientlxlarger than those ofthe leveller-door frame to permit the machined sealing surfaces of theleveller-door and the leveiler-door frame,

respectiveiy 21, 23, to be broughtinto sealing contact and also to leavea sizeable space between the wa1ls of leveller-door frame and theturtleback. By means of this nevel arrangement, the

turtle-back" is advantageously relievecl of any warping effect that theconsiderable weight of the levelierdoor frame 25 wou1d otherwiseoccasionand importantly reduces-the quantity of heat that can reach the formertrom the latter. This is manifestly of impcrtance for protection of themetal and the configuration of the turtlebac because, in operation, theleveller-door frame is directly subected both to radiant heat from thegas-collecting space of the cokingchamber and normally to thecombustion-heat of any gas escaping into the atmosphere during ievellingoperations when the leveller-door is swung open. It should also befurther indicated that although, as is apparent by reference to Figs. 1and 4, the concavity ofthe turtle-b'ackf is relatively shallow in theregion X adjacent the leveller-door, it is of suflicient depth toprovide in the assembled door-unit an interspace'jl9 wherethroughcooling currents of air that flow upwardlsr between the turtle-back andthe plugassembly can continue their course and flow over and around theleveller-dwr, its frame 25. and also the adjacent parts of theturtle-backto maintain them relatively cool and protect their contoursfrom warping, such protection in the case more especially of the latte!said parts promoting permanence of any adjustment of thosepressure-screws that determine the coriflguratlon of the flexiblesealing membr.

As hereinabove menticned, and as is clearly shown in Fig. 5, the neutralaxis, A-A of the turtle-back" member I 0, is disposed intermediate theouter vertical face thereof and the therewith parallel vertical plane,-0, of the center of gravity, B, of the door unit. In such between thedoors comprislng elements, while also providing a practical door-back ofshallow contour that protrudes a sh'orter distance outside thebattery-masonry.

The plug-portion 30 of the improve d coke-oven door which is, as abovestated, rigidly supported entirely by the turtle-back by means of theplurality of bolts |5, is clearly shown in assemblage in Fig. 2 and ingreater detail in Figs. 4 to 9. The massive refractory lining of thedoors plugportion against which the coal of an oven charge is in directcontact, is preferably but not necessarily divided into sections 3|having each its individual metallic retainer means comprising a basalspanner-plate 32 and a lateral support 33 at each side thereof. Thelatter members resemble in conflguration, as will be best comprehendedby reference to Figs. 4, 5, and a, a modifled heavy angle havng ashorter and a langer leg, respectively 34, 35, the former beingperforated with several spaced bores 36 for the passage of bolts 31.From the lower oven-side end of the longer said leg 35, there juts out ashort rib 38 that is in substantial parallelism with the shorterangle-leg 34 and extends upwardly only a small fraction of the totalheight of a lateral support. Ai. their lower ends, the said members 34,35, and 38 are joined together with an integral web or bracket 40, andthe said brackets of a pair of opposite lateral supports 33 serve tocarry one of the removable spanner-plates 32 upon which directly reststhe refractory of a door-plug section.

By means of deep notches 4I, that are i'ormed in bossed shelves 42 ateither side of spanner plates 32 and are adapted'to receive-ribs 38 ofsaid lateralsupports 33, the spanner plates are removably keyed iriilxed position at both their tom of the doors plug-portionhas a basalsupport 43 that is suitably modiiied from these employed for the othersaid sections thereabove to adapt it for its own particular p0sition andfunction in the door unit, as is 'more particularly evident in Figs. 5b,5c, and 9. It comprises a heavy, substantially plano-concave castinghaving rugged peripheral sidewalls 44 and laterallyprojecting wings 45whereby it is in part supported by webs 4II 01' the lateral supports 33therefor. when in operating position in a cokingchamber mouth the nearlyplane lower surface of this basal member 43 (lts oven-side edge isslightlir beveled and' turned upward to i'acilitate introduction intothe oven mouth and to protect the lower edges of the reftactory trompossible impact) is supported slightly above the ovensole by a pair ofrunners 46 that are formed on the lower part of the "turtle-bac and aredisposed to co-act to that end with a similarlyspaced pair thereoi'i'ormed on the bottom part of the door-frame that surrounds thecokingchamber mouth. The member 43 is held flrmly in position in theassembled door by means of bolts that pass through holes 41 in the backwall thereof and attach it to other door members, as will behereinaifter described.

The above-described -leveler-door frame, the lateral and basal supportsfor the refractory material, and the flexible sealing member are all.joined together in a unique and interesting manner to form theplug-portion of the cokeoven door of the invention as will be nowdescribed with particular rei'erence to Flgs. 2, and 5 to 9, inclusiv.The relatively thin clamping sheet 48 extends across a.nd forms a largepart of the outer surface 0! the plug-portion of the door. Structurallyit contributes only in minor degree to the strength and resistance ofthis door-portion and it primarily functions to prevent escape from thecoking-chamber of coalcarbonization products through flssures that maydevelop within the body of the refractory material or between the Sameand its metallic supports. With the exception of the upper part of thecoke-side door, the above-mentioned metal- Iic parts of the doorsplug-portion are secured together by means of a. series of vertical anda se-- ries of horizontal metallic bars, 'respectvely 49, 50, and ofbolts 3| whereby the former are held dsposed in a grid-like patternextending over the -outer surface of the clamping sheet 48. As isclearly apparent, more especially in Figs. 2, 4, and 5, the said bolts31 each pass outwardly,in the following sequence, through a bore 36 inthe shorter leg of one of the metallic lateral supports 33 for thereiractory material, througha therewith registered aperture near theinner edge of the flexible sealing member '21 and, finally, emergethrough an aperture in one of either said vertical or said horizontalmetal bars 49, 50,

where on its threaded end a nut serves to draw said members together.into gas-tight contact assisted by a yieldable, sealing ring-gasketloated between. the adjacent surfaces of the flexible sealing member 21andthe liner-supports 33, and by a coating of a fibrous adhesive appliedbetwen the outer suriace of the former and the inner surface of theclamping sheet l8. At the upper part of the door for the pusher-side 01'a coke oven, the integral vertical and horizontal iianses of theleveller-door frame, 20, iunction in en manner analogous to sa.idmetallic bars 49, 50, in assembling thereadjacent ieatures. 'I'hevarious said members ccmprising the plug-portion 30 of thenovelcoke-oven door are thus rigidly held in their respective, spacedlocations by an exterior grill-worl: comprising easily removable andreplaoeable individual metallic bars-an arrangement which importantlyfacilitates the assembling of saicl members into 9. door unit and alsothe carrying out of localized repairs and adiustments. When thereiractory material of the doors plus-portion is iormed in a pluralit?of sections II, as shown in Fig. 2, strips of wood 14 are employed to1111 the space between them. During the heating-up period, this woudenfl1ler is bumed out as the plug-sections expand. Any void remainingafter completion of expansion can be fllled with a flowable cement.

the metallic clamping bars forming this grill-werk on the exterior 01'the piug-section, the vertically-disposed ones, 49, serve solely asmeans for bolting together by means of bolts 31 adjacent surfaces of theliner-supports, of the flexible sealing member, of the clamping sheet,and their associated gasketing and sealing flbers. 'I'hehorizontally-disposed clamping bars, 50, however, have structurally theadditional function of supporting at their inner end's these heavybolts, I5, whereby the doors plug-portion is aflixed to the outerturtle-back surzporting-member !0 and the two said members are assembledin spaced relationship into a door-unit. As is manifest moreparticularly trom the drawings of Figs. 1 and 2, the contact between thesaicl members I0 and 30 is substantially restricted to the limitedvertical surfaces oi bosses 14 and to the bolts I which themselves, inconsequnce, of their relatively small mess advantageously -provideminimum opportunity for heat to reach the .turtleback member byconduction from the refractory inaterial of the plug-portion, which isincandescent during oven operation. This is an important advance in theart of coke-oven doors that have the door-back and the plug-portionrigidly inter-connected, because the door-back is well-protectedag'ainst reaching warping temperatures and the quantity of heat that canbe lost from the coking-chambers through the outer door-surfaces isimportantly reduced. Cokeoven doors oonstructed according to the presentinvention and employed during normal operation of a coke-oven battery ofstandard design showed temperatures of approximately 160 to 180 F. atthe surfaces of the turtle-back" members at respectively the pusherandthe coke-side of the battery, and temperatures of about 298 to 288 F.respectively in clamping sheet 48 forming the outer suri'ace of a doorsplug-portion. In contrast, the suiiaces of the metallic door-backs ofoven doors of the prior art, under substantially the same operatingconditions, showed temperatures of about 275 F.

As is more clearly apparent in Figs. 4 and 5 the heads of heavy boltsI5, at the intermediate levels of the door, rest acljacent the innerface of cla.mping plate 48, their shanks each. extending outwardlythrough a. perforation therein and thence through a ther ewithregistered aperture, in a horizontal clamping bar 50, that lies wel1inside of the inner periphery of the flexlble sealing n1ember 2 lattached, these in the former location having their heads countersunkflush with the inher surface of the bottom horizontal haar 50, as shownin Fig. 5c, whereas those held in-the iianges of the leveller-door frame(se- Fig. 7) are studded thereinto by threaded sections on their innerends. Thus, none of the assembly bolts l5 or 31 in the door has a commontunction and the turtle-back and the, flexible sealing member 2l areassembled into a door unit, the one independently of the other. Filierplate 18, of Fig. '7, ills the space between inner edges of flexiblesealing member 2I at this location, so that the intermedate of the bolts31 passes through the same thickness of material as the other two boltsin assemblmg the door elements.

The flexible sealing member Zl, that extends around the periphery of theplug-portion of the door and juts beyond the reiractory materialthereof, comprses a web-like portion 2 la having spaced perforationswhereby it is assembled into the plug-portion of the door by means ofbolts 37 and also having projecting therefrom at substantially righ tangles a. beveled metallic edge 2 [22 that is disposed. to press againsta machined surace 5! of the usual door-frame 52, which is itself locatedat the mouth of a coklng-ohamber and is continuous around the entireedge thereoi, the said flexibie member functioning te close the spacebetween the liner-retainers of the door and the Jarhb-bricks 53 at theend of the cokingchamber heating walls, and thus to sea1 the ovenagainst loss of dstillation products. The said member 2! is siniplyfashioned from a. commercially obtainable rolled section of 6" [-iron(Fig. 11), one flange thereof being removed while the other serves asthe actual sealixig edge after lts outer free surface has been grounddown atan angle of about 60 to the web portion to form a contact surfaoethat is about one-eighth inch in width. The rounded corners (Fig. 12) atthe welded junction between a horizontal and a vertical length of thesealing member are easily formed by first cutting oif each of theirto-bemitered ends at an angle of 45. then slittlng the flange-portion, 2Ib, from the web-portion, 21a, to a short dstance back trom each of theso-formed ends so that the former 2 Ib) can be bent independently of theletter (2Ia) thereafter welcling the mitered ends of the web-portions(2Ib) together to form a right-angled joint, and then bending theacljacent loose ends' of the fla'ngeportions to meet and form a. 90 are,iollowed by welding together their contiguous bent-ends as well as (Fig.13) also the slitted borton of the fianges to the web-portion.

In the plug-portion 30 of the oven door, 8.

. heating-up hole 54 is provided opposite the lowest opening l.'l in theturtle-back member.

'I'his hole extends through clmping sheet 48 and the massive refractorymateriaal of the plug-portion and is empioyed to introduce, from theoutside, heting-up ga into the interior of the assocatedcoking-chanriber during the time lts masonry is being heated tooperating tempera ture. After serving such purpose, ths heatingofreiractory material and then covered with closure plate 55 that issupported by bolts 56 (Fig 9).

race thereof against which a. latch-bar bears in closed position of thedoor, to the machined scalingsurface 51 of a door-frame. As hereinbeforementioned, latch-bar 58 comprlses a cylindric bar having rotatablymounted thereon by means of a pair of collars 62 a cam 63 formed with anintegral handle 64 for the purpose of its rotation. When latch-bar 58 iscradled in latch-hooks 51 and it is desired to seal the coking-chamberby bringing the sealing edge, 2"), of fiexible sealing member 2I intopressure-contact with machined suriace 52 of the door frame, the same iseiected by simply tuming handled cam 63 in that dJ1GO- tion which causesits outer surface to bear with increasing pressure against the raisedsurface of cam bearing-plate 65, thereby pressing the door along itsrunners 46, which are formeel integrally with the turtleback over a.similarlyspacecl pair of skids 6'I that are formed on the lower edge ofthe door-frame, and into the oven mouth. In efiect, the cam memberoperates to increase the distance between the latch-bar and the mainbody of the door. The pressure of the sealing edge against thedoor-frame can thus be easily regu1ated by the amount of pressureimpressed on the cam-handle whch can manifestly be operated eithermanually or mechanically.

The cam bearng-plate 65 is mounted on the outer surface of theturtle-back, 10, by a plurality of bolta 68 (Fig. 5); abrasion and wearon the hearing surface of sald plate can be compensated by increasingthe thickness of shim 69 located therebetween and. the turtle-back.Likewse, as is obvous, the dstance between the hearing surfaces of plate65 ancldoor-hook 51 can be varied and adjusted by appropriate choice ofthckness of shims 6I, 69, to increase or dimnish the same, and theefiectve sealing pressure provided by a given angularty of movement ofcam 63 can be thereby respectively decreased or increasecl.

As is obvous from the drawings, the abovedescribed latch-bar means, 58,is not structurally integral with the coke-oven door bui; is separatelylowered nto postion in latch-hooks 51 after the door is inserted intothe mouth of the cokingchamber. It is an extremely smple and efiectlvearrangement for the purpose, is advantageously cheap to construct, anddispenses -with highly intrcate and expensive devices previouslyemployed for .attaching coke-oven latch-bars to the d0ors themselves andfor moving them in a horizontal plane relatve to the body of the door.

Although these latch-bars lend themselves simply to manual operaton, inlarge-scale modern operations, mechanical means for their manipulatonare pr'eferred, and so or ther use in present practice, there has beendeveloped a. powerdriven mechanism that is propelled by the doorhandlingmachine to actuate the cam member and to liftthe latch-bar out of thelatch-hooks and to return it thereto during the operations ofrespeotively removing the oven-door from and. returm'ng it to thecoking-chamber mouth; and.

this latch-operating mechanism is being made sheet metal that is boltedto the outside of the turtle-back 10 by the same bolts 68 whereby cambearing-plate 65 is supported. Its outwardly extencling ends '|I arespaced apart a dlstance less than the over-all length 01 the associatedlatch-bar and each is provided with verticallydisposed slots 12 of suchheight and width as permits the latch-bars freely to be lifted out ofthe latch-hooks and lowered into their seats therein. To prevent unduelongitudinal movement of a. latch-bar in said keeper Ill, collars 15 areaflixed to the latch-bar after it has been cradled in the keeper 'III.

The invention as hereinabove set torth is embodied in particular formand manner bui; may be variously embodied withn the scope of the claimshereinafter made.

I claim:

1. A plug door for a horizontal coke oven chamber with a doorway at oneend of the oven chamber and a sealing surface at the margin of thedoorway, said door comprising: a metallic closure panel means adapted tonormally close the space within the margin of the doorway in the closedpositon ofthe door;' an inner plug lining of refractory material carriedby the closure panel means 'or extension into the doorway; and an outermetallic cover for the closure panel means adapted to conront andenclose substantially the entire outer area of the closure panel means:said metallic cover being rigidly afixed to the closure panel means soas to be both out of tructural heat-conductng contact therewith andspaced therefrom so as to form analr-flow cooling chamber, open to theatmosphere, between the inside of the cover and the outerside of theclosure panel means, for free ascension of cooling air therethrough overthe outersicie of the closure panel means and the inside of the coverfor the closure panel means.

2. A plug door for a. horizontal coke oven chamber with a doorway at oneend of the oven chamber and a sealing surface at the margin of thedoorway, said door comprisng: a metallic closure panel means adapted tonormally close the space within the margin of the doorway in planebetween the sides of the plug lining and the margin of the doorway; saidmetallic cover being rgidly affixed to the closure panel means out ofstructural heat-conducting contact of the plate-like portion and itsside walls with the clo- Sure panel means, and said substantially flatplate-like portion being so spaced from the closure panel means as toform an air-flow chamber, open to the atmosphere, between the inside ofthe cover and the outside of the clpsure panel means, for free ascensionof cooling air therethrough, over the outerside of the closure panelmeans and the inside of the cover for the closure panel means.

3. A coke oven door as claimed in claim 1, and

in which the cover is provided with port-holes for crculation of airfrom the outer atmosphere into and. through the air-flow chamber undernaturel draft induced by the heat of the door.

4. A coke-oven door comprising: an inner plugportion comprising ametallic support carrying an innerplug 1ining of refractory material; an

outer metallic cover for the plug portion that is exposed to theatmosphere and constitutes the main 1oad carrying andsupporting memberfor the door, said cover comprising a. substantially flat; plate-likeportion that confronts and encloses the entire area of the outer portionof the plug-portion of the door, and side and top and bottom wallsextending inwardly from the flat plate-like portion ofthe cover towardsthe plugportion, in a plane surrounding the margins of the sides and.top and bottom of the inner linng, thus forming an ntermediate airflowcooling chamber between the inside of the cover and the outer side ofthe plug-portion of the door;

means comprising structural elements of relatlvely minor mess rigidlyaflixing the metal cover to the plug-portion in spaced relationship suchthat the flat plate-like portin and inwardly extendng walls of the outercover are out of strucsition for supporting means for adjusting pressureon a flexible self sealing member for se&ling the joint between themouth of the oven chamber and the door, and in which the sealing meansis a. flexible sel! sealing means.

6. 1 coke-oven door as claimed in claim 4, and in which the outer metalcover is constituted as a conchoidal cover with inner alterna elevationsand depressions, and is stmcturally arched away outwardly trom theplug-port! 7. A coke-oven door as claimed in claim 4, andinwhichthesealingmeensis ottheflexihle selfsealinztype, andinwhichthepIug-portionhas means for renovably aflixing said se1f sealing means thereto, and inwhich the latter aflxing means and theafixing means for the cover areoven chamber to leve] a coal charge therein, and

in which said leveller-bar frame projetzts through an opening in the topof the metal cover for the plug-portion, and in which the air-flowc0oling chamber so Communicates with the atmosphere that saidIevelIer-bar frame is outwardly traversed by air that has inwardlytraversed the airfiow cooling chamber assad air flows out from theair-flow cooling chamber.

9. A coke-oven door as claimed n claim 4, and in which the outer metalcover that constitutes the main load carrying and supportrg member forthe door, and the plug portion are constructed so as to balance eachother in weght, and in which the connecting means between the two is sodistrbuted throughout the height of the door that the cover and theplug-portion counter-balance each other and are so disposcd relative toeach other and to the connecting means as to be built in accordance withthe mess distribution principle of the double-flanged beam, that is thehigh proportion of the weig ht of the oo ver and the plug-portion beingdisposed relatively remote trom each other.

10. A cokeoven door as claimed in claim 4, and. in which the outer metalcover that constitutes the main load carrying and supporting member forthe door, and the plug-portion are constructed so as to balance eachother in weight, and in which the connecting means between the two is sodistributed throughout the height of the door that the cover and thepluz-p rtion celmter-balance each other and are so disposed relative toeach other and to the connecting meansastobebuiltinaccordancewiththemass distribution principle 0! thedouble-flanged heem, that is the high proportion of the weisht of thecover and the plug-portion being disposed relatively re m ote trom eachother, and in which the maas of said cover is so distributed that theneutral axls of the maas of the cover is intermediate the outer verticali'ace of seid cover and the therewith parallel vertical plane of thecenter of gravity 01' the door when taken as a unitary whole.

. JOSEPH vut ACEREN'.

